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Thursday, January 22, 2015

I put this picture on the
Internet without a copyright notice, so you can use it however you want, right?

Wrong.

Posting something on the
Internet does not change its copyright status any more than publishing it in a
magazine does. And the current copyright law doesn’t require either
registration or a copyright notice.

I took the photo last
summer while driving through Utah. It was copyrighted the instant I took it,
and I don’t lose the copyright by posting it on the Internet.

Although a copyright
notice isn’t necessary, it does inform the reader who might otherwise copy out
of ignorance. I don’t include a formal copyright notice with each individual
post on my personal blog, but the site itself contains this warning:

The material on this blog is copyrighted unless otherwise
noted. You do not need permission to include links to this blog. To ask
permission for other uses, contact me at [e-mail address].

Ignorance is no excuse,
of course, and it won’t protect you if someone charges you with copyright
infringement for the material you use on your blog or anywhere else. So don’t use anything
you are unsure about. With a few exceptions that are beyond the scope of this
post, you should get permission to use any material that is not clearly in the
public domain. This includes photos and artwork and text and even music.

So what material is clearly
in the public domain?

Material
that was published in the United States before 1923. Works that were
created or first published in another country may have a longer copyright
in those countries, so you may have to be careful about distribution. Some
material published after 1923 is also in the public domain, but that is
more complicated to figure out.

Material
produced by federal government employees in the course of their official
duties. This includes opinions issued by federal courts and reports and
photographs created by employees of federal agencies.

Material
that cannot be copyrighted, such as names and titles, short phrases and
slogans, ideas, and facts. However, names and titles and short phrases and
slogans can become trademarks, which entitles them to a different kind of
protection. And although ideas and facts cannot be copyrighted, the expression describing them can be.

Some creators waive the
copyright by marking their material with “no rights reserved.” Whether this
actually puts the material in the public domain depends on the jurisdiction. At the
least, however, it gives the public a blanket permission to use the material. Still,
it is best not to rely on the “no rights reserved” tag unless you have good
reason to believe that it was added by the person who would otherwise own the
copyright.

But, you ask, aren’t
there some situations where I can use copyrighted material without getting
permission? Of course there are. It’s called “fair use.”

That will be the subject
of next month’s post.

__________

Kathryn Page Camp is a
licensed attorney and full-time writer. Her most recent book, Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words
Legal (KP/PK Publishing 2013), is a Kirkus’
Indie Books of the Month Selection. Kathryn is also the author of In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s
First Amendment Decisions Affect Organized Religion (FaithWalk Publishing
2006) and numerous articles. You can learn more about Kathryn at www.kathrynpagecamp.com.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

For
the entire year of 2015, I have come up with a theme for my posts. I plan to
share how twelve different writers have inspired me and are the ones I return
to when I need some inspiration. As readers, we have loved the words written by
authors who have spoken to us through their stories. It could have happened as
a child or as an adult.

My
first author on this journey that I want to travel with you is none other than
the one of the greatest Christian writers of the past. Have an idea? If you
cheated, his name is in the title of this blog post. J

C.S.
Lewis.

What
does C.S. Lewis’ writing mean to me? It started when I was a little girl. My
father handed me a copy of Prince Caspian,
and I was transported to Narnia on the wings of my imagination. I loved Lucy,
the curious little girl who saw the best in everyone. She didn’t have a mean
thing to say about anyone, except when Edmund picked on her. She had the faith
of a child and still believed in Aslan, even when everyone didn’t believe he
would come back.

I
loved the landscape of a land that you were transported to through magical
portals, either a wardrobe, a train station, a picture, a ring, or a jump off a
high cliff. The entryway was never the same twice. Lewis did a good job at
holding the readers’ attention as we waited with anticipation to see how our
familiar characters were going to be transported back to Narnia.

I
loved a land filled with magic and talking creatures. Who could forget the talking
beavers that helped Lucy, Peter, Susan, and Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe? Or Tumnas, the half goat,
half man, or a faun as the story lovingly refers to him, who sacrificed his
life to keep the two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam safe because he
believed in a free Narnia?

As
a writer, C.S. Lewis has taught me how to create a story using imagination to
share the wonderful story of Jesus Christ and his saving power. My imagination
is my best tool to create a story that allows my future readers to connect with
the characters occupying the pages of my story. Using my imagination, I can sprinkle in clues
to Jesus without overwhelming the readers with the Biblical lesson.

As
I got older, I have read a majority of Lewis’ others stories, fiction or
non-fiction. I have read a good chunk of his literary criticism. He has such
passion for the written word. In graduate school, I wrote two different papers
using C.S. Lewis’ writing as the basis for my papers. One was a compare and
contrast between Paradise Lost by
John Milton and Lewis’ The Screwtape
Letters. Second paper, I argued that even though The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as a Biblical allegory is a
valued way to look at the story, Lewis actually created it as a fairy tale, which
I proved.

C.S.
Lewis taught me the love of creating stories with my imagination and the
ability to create a passion for the written word. He is one of my favorite
writers who I return to when I want a good read to explore Narnia or learn more
about something in the literary field. No wonder still today, fifty-one years
after his death, his books still capture the imagination of new generations and
are placed in the hollow shelves of our local libraries.

Have
you read C.S. Lewis books? If so, what is some of you favorite books? What has
he taught you as a writer and a reader?

Sunday, January 18, 2015

“…Freely you have received, freely give.” Matt. 10:8b (NKJV)I
intended to finish out 2014 with a few of my favorite things about writing
beginning in September, specifically the following four things:

Closeness

Freedom

Research

Sharing

I had
some technical issues and missed November, so I’m wrapping up the list today
with number 4 - Sharing.

So to
recap, writing, painting with words, draws me close to my Lord and Savior. And
when Jesus is near, I experience freedom from all the cares and concerns that
inevitably try to weigh me down.

With Him
close, when I’m free from the noisy voices that want to steal my peace, I can
seek and find anything. With His help I can uncover all the big, and little,
nuggets of information I feel I need to make my stories plausible and
interesting. He’s so good.

graphicstock.com

Learning
new things energizes me more than a double espresso. Although I must say that
would probably come in a close second. It’s all well and good to increase
knowledge, but learning something valuable and not sharing it with somebody was
never God’s intention. Writing is a great way to share what you’ve learned, but
since writing full-time is not yet possible for me I’m convinced God has placed
me in exactly the right workplace with the right people.

I’ve
mentioned before that I work in a library. I have found that people who work in
a library tend to love learning new things, and sharing that knowledge with
anyone who will listen. In other words, I’m not the only one! I’m in good
company.

That said
it’s truly commendable how the ladies that I work with most closely will
actually listen to me when I tell them yet another thing I discovered, and how
much more awesome this thing is than the thing I “wowed” them with last time.
They are so kind to at least pretend to be interested.

But I
just can’t help myself! I want to talk about things I’ve learned especially if
I suspect those things could benefit the person with whom I speaking. What God
has freely given to me, I feel compelled to pass along.

Things
like, did you know if you place a freshly sliced onion on a bee sting
immediately after it happens and leave it there for 10 minutes, the juice from
the onion will draw the poison from the bite? There will be no welt and it will
not itch. It’s that cool? You can’t keep something like that to yourself.
Right?

graphicstock.com

I could
write a ton more words about all sorts of things I’ve learned, but they might
be things you don’t care to know. And after all, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of
gold in settings of silver.” Prov. 25:11 (NKJV) So just suffice it to say, I
like sharing what I know and with God’s wisdom I’ll share it at the right time.

While I haven’t shared much specifically, I believe I have
made my point and it’s time to let you go do something you love now.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Technology...we all love it when it works, but want to throw it out the window when it doesn't. It can make our lives better and it can complicate our lives beyond belief.

I would wager that all of us use the Internet every day, multiple times a day, and some of us every minute of every day. To that end, we all use Internet browsers to "surf" the web: Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Chrome seem to be the 4 most of us use on a regular basis.

Website standards are always changing. Hackers are always trying to find another way into your computer through your browser. The technology powers that be are always updating their browsers to stay ahead of (or react to) those hackers and to make sure the websites you visit look and feel the way the designers intended.

Keeping your browser up to date is an easy defense against drive-by attacks (meaning your computer could possibly be compromised just by visiting a malicious website). Most browsers have a built-in update function to either manually update or automatically update once updates become available. This function either happens when your computer checks for updates (Apple Safari and Microsoft Internet Explorer) or there is a drop down menu button that allows you access to this function (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox).

Everyone has a favorite browser. At times, I've found a website that only works with (or works better) with another browser; therefore, I keep 2 browsers on my computer to have a backup in case I need it.

It's safe to say that the computer you are using right now either came with Apple Safari or Microsoft Interenet Explorer as a default. I would suggest you either keep Firefox or Chrome as a secondary browser, should you run accross a website that requires a different browser than the one you are using.

As a side and final note, be sure to keep your installed plugins up to date as well (flash player, adobe reader, etc) as that is another avenue that malicious websites can use to access your computer or even plant something nasty).

Saturday, January 3, 2015

A great story is life with the dull parts taken out.--Alfred Hitchcock

I came across that quote in my notes from a workshop that James Scott Bell led at the 2011 ACFW Conference. Hitchcock gave us a surefire way to achieve great storytelling: Just cut out the dull parts. The dull parts of life have...

No conflict

No internal pressure

No trouble (Scenes that depict "Happy people in happy land.")

No fear

On that last point, Bell said, "Remember there is a continuum of fear, from minor worry to sheer terror. Fear of the unknown and fear of the known. In this respect, every scene in a great story involves some kind of fear. If not, it's dull. So it has to go."

That seems rather harsh, don't you think?

Well, think back to one of the classic films of Christmas that have been running in recent weeks: A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, or (my favorite) that 1950s nostalgia trip, A Christmas Story. Remember an iconic scene from any of those movies. Now ask yourself, Did that scene have any of the 4 "dull parts" that James Scott Bell listed? Probably not.

Those classic movies may have had some dull parts, originally, but they wound up on the director's cutting-room floor. That's what made them great.

__________________

Joe Allison and his wife, Judy, live in Anderson IN, where Joe serves as Editorial Director of Discipleship Resources & Curriculum for Warner Press, Inc. Joe has several nonfiction books in print, including Swords and Whetstones: A Guide to Christian Bible Study Resources. He's currently writing a trilogy of Christian historical novels set in the Great Depression.